Does your home need fire doors?
In England, fire doors in homes are covered by the Building Regulations. These are explained in a government document called Approved Document B (Volume 1 deals with dwellings). It doesn't say every home needs fire doors. It says everyone must be able to get out safely if there's a fire. Fire doors are one way of protecting the route out.
The rules kick in when you do building work, such as a loft conversion, a garage conversion or a new build. Simply swapping old doors for new ones in an ordinary house isn't building work. Here's a quick way to see where you stand:
| Your home | Fire doors needed? | Self-closer? |
|---|---|---|
| Bungalow or two-storey house | No, not usually | No |
| Door from an integral garage into the house | Yes, FD30 | Yes |
| House with a floor more than 4.5m up (often a loft conversion) | Yes, on rooms off the stairs | Not usually |
| Flat front door onto a shared hallway | Yes, FD30 | Yes |
| HMO or shared house | Usually, set by the council | Often |
Two-storey houses and bungalows
In a normal two-storey house, no floor is high enough for the rules to ask for fire doors inside the house. Instead, the regulations rely on working smoke alarms and on escape windows from the upstairs bedrooms that are big enough to climb out of.
That doesn't mean fire doors are pointless. Some people choose them for a kitchen or a room with a log burner for extra peace of mind. They're heavier, more solid and quieter too. But you don't have to fit them.
Loft conversions
This is where most homeowners first meet fire door regulations. Turning a two-storey house into three usually creates a floor more than 4.5m above the ground. Escape windows aren't safe from that height, so the stairs have to become a protected stairway that runs from the top floor all the way to a door out of the house.
In practice that means:
- Every habitable room that opens onto the stairs gets a fire door. That's the bedrooms, living room and kitchen on every floor, not just the new loft room. Bathrooms usually don't need one unless building control asks.
- The doors are normally FD30. The guidance asks for 20 minutes, but FD30 doors are the ones made and sold, so that's what gets fitted.
- Self-closers aren't usually needed on doors inside a house.
- Mains-powered, linked smoke alarms go on every floor of the escape route.
There are other ways to meet the rules, such as sprinklers in an open-plan layout. But fire doors are by far the most common. A loft conversion needs building control sign-off and the officer will check the doors. That's why it pays to get them right first time. See our fire door fitting service in Leeds: £200 a door, fitted as a complete set.
Integral garages
If your garage is built into the house, the door between the garage and the house should be a self-closing FD30 fire door. Garages hold cars, fuel and tools. A fire there can spread into the house fast. The closer makes sure the door is shut when you're not looking.
If you convert the garage into a room, the rules change again and building control will tell you what the new layout needs.
Flats
Flats follow stricter rules because a fire in one flat can affect everyone in the building:
- Front doors onto a shared hallway or stairwell must be FD30 fire doors with a self-closer. They hold a fire inside a flat long enough for neighbours to get out.
- Inside the flat, many upper-floor flats rely on a protected hallway, with fire doors from the hall into the main rooms.
- The shared parts of the building fall under the Fire Safety Order. The building owner or managing agent is responsible for them.
Since January 2023, the person responsible for a block of flats over 11m tall must check the communal fire doors every three months and try to check every flat front door once a year. If you own a flat, your front door is part of the building's fire safety, so speak to your managing agent before you change it.
Rented homes and HMOs
A house let to a single family usually follows the same rules as any other house. Landlords still have to fit smoke alarms and keep the home safe.
Houses in multiple occupation are different. Councils set the fire safety standard. Most follow national guidance that typically asks for FD30 doors with self-closers on bedrooms and the kitchen, so every room off the escape route is protected. In Leeds and the rest of Yorkshire the council's private housing team will tell you what your property needs, often as part of an HMO licence.
The fitting rules that catch people out
A fire door is only as good as its fitting. A certified door hung badly can fail a building control check. Worse, it can fail in a fire. The key rules:
- The frame must matchA fire door goes into a fire-rated frame or lining. A tired old softwood frame may not be good enough.
- Seals all roundIntumescent strips in the door edge or frame swell in heat and close the gap. Some also stop cold smoke.
- The right gapsRoughly 3mm round the top and sides. Too wide and fire and smoke get through.
- Fire-rated hardwareAt least three fire-rated hinges and a compatible latch and handle.
- Only trim within limitsEvery fire door has a maximum it can be trimmed. Go past it and the certificate no longer applies.
- Keep it shutNever wedge a fire door open or take off a closer. A propped door gives no protection.
For a closer look at what makes a door a fire door and how to check one, read what is a fire door?. For the difference between 30 and 60-minute doors, see FD30 and FD60 fire doors explained.
